Alfheim
This realm of faeries is wild and chaotic, and has been mentioned in many different mythos. Also called the Otherworld, Faerie, Arcadia, and Tir Na Nog. General Description The realm of the faeries is a vibrant, variable, and mysterious plane in which anything could happen. It is a realm of magic and trickery, of whimsy and chaos, of life and danger and beauty alike. Much of it may seem like the usual world and may even be a direct echo of it, but magic is extremely potent here and anything you come across is likely to be magical in nature. * Time is said to pass more quickly on our world than it does in the Fae Realm, so a day there may be a year or more on our home realm. The length varies randomly, which is why some people will go missing for years and then return without knowing how much time has passed. Known Methods of Access * Portals under Trefoil Academy * A created Rift between realms, which is illegal dark arts * A natural Rift, which forms in various magical circumstances such as: ** "Fairy Rings" of mushrooms, but only when activated by the faeries ** Barriers are said to be thin between our realms on the Spring and Autumn Equinox, which is when the night and day length is equal. This correlates roughly to May Day and Halloween. ** "Fairy Forts," or mounds, have underground portals that sometimes lead to Alfheim ** Magical stones in the midst of a clearing, sometimes no bigger than a ball. ** Looped tree roots that form archways ** Special holes within trees you can crawl through ** ...and more. There are innumerable accounts and it is hard to rule out illusion! Exploration Limited, and unreliable. Things change too quickly and illusions are common. Survival Magics are wild and chaotic here, so the best advice is: be polite, trust nothing, and make no promises! Academy History Some students have traveled on their own to the realm of the Fae. It was featured as part of one of the Off-Season Tournaments one year, as well. Students are warned of the dangers and to never trust any Fae creatures. Notable Places Unknown Denizens The fae who call it home may fall into one of three camps: * Summer Court, or Seelie, who are puckish pranksters, but are generally good-natured and just. That is not to say they are to be trusted, as both tricksters and a more subtle or even naive cruelty (such as trapping someone for a few decades or longer). They tend to be very protective of the natural world and count among their number many pixies, centaur, faun, and “elves.” * Winter Court, the Unseelie, who are more openly cruel, malevolent, and often violent. Among their number are many trolls, red-caps, ogres, boggarts, and “dark elves.” * The rest: there is no specific name for them, only their lack of direct affiliation with either Court. There is a very small contingent who have begun forming their own group, the "Ankou." There is rarely a time that the fae creatures are ever at peace with each other. Their ongoing feud is said to cause the seasons of our world, where the Summer Court is in power bringing the summer to our own lands, and the Winter Court ushering in winter. It is unknown whether that is myth or if there is truth to that legend, particularly when you consider that our own planet's seasons change depending on what hemisphere you're in! Notable Species Generally speaking, little is known about the lives of the more powerful Fae because those who get that close tend to never leave their service, being lifebound to serve them and unable to leave. Given that, the prevailing opinion of magekind is that any dealings with Fae should be done both cautiously and respectfully to avoid insult, if not outright avoided. * Fae * Dryads * Faun * Goblin * Minotaur * Kelpie * Phooka/Puck * Spriggan * Troll * Bugbears: bogies, bogles, bogeymen, and boggarts * Pixies and tiny "faeries" * Merfolk * Leprechauns * Changelings * Will'o'Wisp * Cait Sith ("Cat Shee"): an all black, massive cat with a white spot upon its chest. * Cu Sith ("Cu Shee"): enormous, shaggy wolfhounds, usually green, white, or black in color * Banshee * Imp * Red Caps * Ogres * Wood Nymphs Notable Persons * Vale, who was the former king of the Unseelie * The Erlking * Tomlin Theories and Questions Realm: * Should we ally with either the Seelie or Unseelie? * How are the Ankou being perceived among Fae politics? * Do the creatures of Alfheim have any thought or concern about the Westgaards? Shard * It is likely that a Shard from the Heru Prophecy is somewhere in this realm. Category:Realms